Intel to bring jobs, innovation with new Arizona manufacturing plant

Summary:Flanked by a U.S. president under the gun to create more jobs in America, Intel's President and CEO Paul Otellini said today that will invest more than $5 billion in a new chip manufacturing plant at its Chandler, Ariz.

Flanked by a U.S. president under the gun to create more jobs in America, Intel's President and CEO Paul Otellini said today that will invest more than $5 billion in a new chip manufacturing plant at its Chandler, Ariz. facility, with construction beginning later this year.

Otellini made the announcement during a visit by President Barack Obama today to a Intel facility in Hillsboro, Ore. Obama was in Silicon Valley last night, where he dined with some of the most powerful names in the tech industry to discuss innovation and, presumably, how that could lead to job creation in the U.S.

Intel said that the new Arizona factory will be the most advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world. In a statement, the company noted that while more than three-fourths of Intel’s sales come from outside of the United States, three-fourths of its microprocessors are manufactured in the United States.

The company said the Arizona facility would not only create "thousands:" of construction and permanent manfacturing jobs, but would also help Intel to drive innovation. In a statement, Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Manufacturing and Supply Chain, said:

The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth. This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume. The unmatched scope and scale of our investments in manufacturing help Intel maintain industry leadership and drives innovation.”